Kent Carmichael of Gibson, Mancini, Carmichael and Nelson Architects, Garden City, told board members that all of the bids came in close to that number, but that Dick Construction's was the lowest.

"Harbin Construction, which is out of Salina, was at $1,078,000, Compton Construction out of Wichita was at $1,092,000, so they were very, very close," Carmichael said.

Carmichael told the board that as the project has progressed, items such as doors, ceilings and climate control -- items that are either in need of repair or replacement -- have been found, but that his firm is attempting to stay within the $1 million budget.

"So we bid all these items, hoping we could come in under the $1 million budget. Obviously, they didn't come in under the $1 million budget," he said, referring to these additional items as alternates that the board could consider.

He said that if the board approved all of the alternates, the cost would be $1,160,617.

"Since that's over the budget, we felt like it was our duty to try to find out if there were some things we could try to take out of the project without hindering anything," Carmichael said.

He told the board that items not necessary at this point, included replacement of ceilings in four of the classrooms in the 82 building, reduction in the size of air conditioning duct work, and lower-priced lavatories.

"So if we were to take those deducts, we would be at $1,013,765. That's without adding any alternates," Carmichael said, adding that some of the items, such as hardware on doors, could be added at any time, and that other items, such as carpeting outside the classrooms, weren't important to the remodel.

Even with these deductions, the project is still over the $1 million budget, so Carmichael asked the board for its opinion.

"I recommend that we approve the base bid and then do change orders for those three deducts because they really make a lot of sense, and I think make good stewards of tax dollars," Rush said, adding that she also suggested adding Carmichael's alternate of adding a rooftop unit that would provide heating and air conditioning in the hallways in front of the gym and library.

Rush also suggested that the board approve the add-in of replacing damaged ceiling tiles as part of adding in the heating and air conditioning unit.

"Because the way it is now, when they put in that rooftop unit, they're going to take that tile down and put it back up," Rush said. "Why would we put the old back up. I would put new tile because we're taking it down anyway."
With Rush's suggestions, Carmichael said that the cost would be approximately $1,075,000, but said it's possible that the final cost of the rooftop unit and ceiling tile could come in lower.

"From the budget standpoint, I'm comfortable with $1 million, I'm comfortable with a little over $1 million. We could go $100,000 to $150,000 over a million, and we'd be comfortable," Rush said.

Carmichael told the board that Dick Construction wants to begin work at the first of the year.

"The main thing is, it would be nice to get the contract signed so the contractor could get rolling. We can issue the change order, we can issue the paperwork to get an exact deduct, as far as exactly what that is, then we can alter the contract amount down to that and then come in with the adds, as directed, I guess is what I would say," he said.

The board unanimously approved Dick Construction's bid, authorizing the calculation of deductions to be brought back to the next school board meeting.

The USD 363 Board of Education meets again at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 14, 2013, at the district offices at 305 Wiley St.